Laksa!

Yup! I'm back in Singapore after 10 months in Australia and 2 weeks in Korea... As I now have access to my favorite food... I guess I won't be updating this blog... At least not until I go back to Australia... I have applied to continue with my Masters at ECU... And hopefully it will be approved... And everything will go smooth for me... Hopefully.

3 Museums in One Morning!

And then a series of mad dash back to Singapore!

The National Palace Museum of Korea...

Which houses various artifacts, mostly from the last dynasty of Korea... Including this car! One of the first to be built in Korea...

And then off to the Bank of Korea Museum! To look at money... There was a line outside the museum... Which was pretty weird... But we joined the line... And eventually found out that the line was formed to purchase a 2-piece uncutted 1,000won note collectors edition... So we bought a set... =x

Money!

Can I have just 1 stack please? Please? Please?

The poster said so... Biggest department store in the World... Luckily, neither my mum or I are shopaholic...

The Korea War memorial... Which also serves as the Army Museum of South Korea...

Service uniform of the ROK... As previously mentioned... All able-bodied South Korean males must serve 2 years of military service... And the story I heard from the tour guide is terrible... =x

Colours of the ROK...

Mum posing...

Drum with a tiger design on it... Did I mentioned I'm born in the year of the tiger?

I believe this is the Korean-made K-1 tank...

The B-52 bomber... Still in service with the USAF... Crazily huge... All found in the Korean War Memorial...

Kim's Guesthouse... Located in Hapjeong... I stayed here the first time I came to Korea... Have been renovated... And it's really beautiful now... Still under renovation here and there... But it will be great!

Lounge area...

Computers with internet access... It's very important for the modern backpacker... =x

THe kitchen!

AREX to the airport...

Lunch at airport...

Check this out! Abalone with shell!

Incheon international airport... Currently voted the best airport in the World!

Airplane food... =D

Dessert at Beijing airport... It's so pretty... It deserves to have it's photo taken! For one the biggest and most important airport in the World... Beijing airport's transit terminal shops close mighty early! At 8.30pm, most of the shops are closed... Leaving only the duty-free shops! Weird!

Flight back home...

In the end... Can only say I enjoyed myself thoroughtly... The first time I came to Korea, the only thing on my mind was to survive! Cycling through Korea was a crazy idea... But if I can go back in time, I would still do it! But this time, the idea was to have fun! Fun! And fun! And I had fun... It was worthwhile... =D

Seoul! Seoul! Seoul!

The Gyeongbokgung...

A sundial in the palace...

The National Folk Museum of Korea... Which is located inside the Gyeongbokgung... And since it's free... Go in!

An exhibition of comtemporay designed hanbok...

More...

What can I say? I must miniature models...

The team in blue will be playing a traditional 4-4-2 with the team in red opting for a flat back 4, a diamond in midfield and tandem striker... Oh wait... That's not how this is played? Ok...

It's the year of the Tiger next... I'm a Tiger... In other words... I'm 24 next year!

Another shot of the Gyeongbokgung...

The Changgyeonggung... Which is closed... =/

The Changdeokgung... Which is opened! Woo!

I love the colorful gates of the palaces...

Fat pigeons... Fatter then Singaporean's... I wonder if I can eat them for dinner... =x

Nandaemum market!

Lunch! Finally had my galbitang... Which I had a lot of during my first trip to Korea... Not because it's that good... But becoz... When I step into a restaurant at the end of the day after cycling... I'm all hungry... And when I look at the menu... Galbitang was usually the only thing I recognize... Kinda stupid of me... =D

Glorious food!

Namdaemun... Or Great Southern Gate... Which got burnt down in 2008... Now under restoration... There were widespread mourning after the arson act... Pretty weird to the average apathetic Singaporean... I guess the best description I can think of is... Crying after the Merlion got struck by lightning...

Dongdaemun... Or Great Eastern Gate... Which is still standing... After I seen Namdaemun and Dongdaemun... I wonder if there is Seodaemun (West) and Bukdaemun (North)... Hmmm...

Dongdaemun shipping district...

No idea which fish market is this... We stumled across it while trying to get to Yeouido to see the 63 building... Never got to Yeouido... But the fish market is an eye opener...

Cold noodle... A classic case of going into a restaurant and ordering randomly... The shopowner spent the majority of his time staring at us eat... It was weird...

Suwon!

Train to Suwon... Not KTX this time... Just one of the slower and cheaper 1...

Bus to the Korean Folks Village!

Some sorta farmer dance thing-a-ling-ling...

And tight-rope walking thing-a-ling-ling...

Dried food...

At the KFV, they have built a whole village, recreating various part of traditional Korean houses, all in one place!

Horse thing-a-ling-ling...

A torture device, located in the 'village's' courthouse.

One model prisoner in the village... I got no idea why... But "she's" flooded with coins!

Lunch!

The KFV in winter...

Main entrance...

Hwaseong fortress, a UNESCO heritage site... A well preserved piece of history... A piece which I merely cycled past during my first trip to Korea... And a place my mum wanna visit... This time we will circle the fortress!

A journey of 5.74kilometres start with 1 step...

Night fall... Beautiful yeah?

Tower... Eventually we took about 2 hours to encircle the fortress...

Yes kids! That's how they sell ginseng in Korea!

Cute puppy dog in a certain petshop...

Suwon station, where we have dinner, and took the train back...

Lotteria! Korea's version of McDonald's...